BY RYAN O’CONNOR

Voting in Bow was down almost 33 percent from last year, with only 16.5 percent of Bow’s 5,510 registered voters turning out to cast their ballots on Town Election Day, Tuesday, May 8, where there were shakeups in both contested race.

Thomas Keane shook the landscape of the Bow Board of Selectmen, defeating Chairman Thomas Fagan.

“I really enjoyed working with Thomas Fagan. He was an excellent selectman who cared very much for the town of Bow,” said Town Manager James Pitts. “I look forward to working with the newly constituted board, including Thomas Keane.”

“One of the things I want to do and one of the things I’ve promised to do is keep people informed, and I’ll be setting up a Web site and writing editorials in The Bow Times to do that,” said Keane. “I appreciate everyone’s vote. It was an uphill struggle and I want to say that I think Tom Fagan was a great selectman, and I want to thank him  for his service to the town and wish him well.”

Keane, 5 08 votes, and incumbent Leon Kenison, 522 votes, narrowly defeated Fagan who accumulated 484 votes.

Likewise, on the budget committee, John Burton III, 285 votes, lost his attempt at re-election, while Rick Hiland, 391 votes, will be rejoining the board after losing the vote last year and taking a year off.

Jacquelyn “Jet” Jennings, 254 votes, also lost her bid for the budget committee, while Kally Abrams won a seat, with 418 votes, after losing a close race in 2006.

“I’m resilient and I’m glad I was elected. Over the next three years, it’s going to be an interesting group of five different people that all bring different things to the table,” said Abrams. “There is definitely going to be work to do to get the town where it needs to be.”

In addition to keeping a close eye on the school system, which her son is currently a part of, and making sure the Public Works Department continued receiving the funding it needs, Abrams said one of her top priorities on the Budget Committee is the new public safety building for the police and fire departments.

“We, as the people who live in the town of Bow, should be embarrassed by (the fire station),” said Abrams.

“Everyone wants to have their own town pride, but having a fire station and community center that’s in nearly disrepair is something we should take very seriously.”

Burton and Jennings may still apply for a one-year appointment on the Budget Committee to fill the void created by the recent death of Robert Graves.

The deadline for applications is 4 p.m. on May 16.

Those winning uncontested races include Henry S. Uchida, 715 votes, who will serve the next three years as trustee of the trust funds, and Regan R. Mack, 690 votes, who will serve a five-year term as library trustee.

To coincide with town elections, the Bow School District moved, for the first time, from March to May, though there were no contested races.

Current school board Chairman Warren Fargo, 610 votes, and board member Pansy Bloomfield, 593 votes, each gained another three-year seat, and Anne Baier, 673 votes, won another term in the board’s one-year seat.